Durbin Named Top Democrat On Senate Immigration Subcommittee

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after being re-appointed as the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee:

More than 20 years ago, when I first came to the Senate, Senator Ted Kennedy called to ask me, the son of an immigrant, to serve on the Immigration Subcommittee. I have never felt a greater need to ensure that our immigration laws are worthy of our heritage as a nation of immigrants than I have these past two years. Though our bipartisan efforts to fix our broken immigration system have been blocked time and again, we must continue fighting for a more fair and humane system.

I am honored to continue serving as the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and I look forward to continuing to work with Senator Cornyn and the other members of the Subcommittee.

Durbin will also serve on the following Judiciary Subcommittees: Subcommittee on The Constitution, the Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, and the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property.

Durbin has a long record of advocating for immigration policies that keep families together, safeguard the rights of American and immigrant workers, and boost the U.S. economy. Eighteen years ago, he introduced the original Dream Act to give young immigrants who grew up in this country a path to citizenship. In April 2010, he became the first member of Congress to call for the establishment of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Durbin was also a member of the “Gang of 8” Republicans and Democrats that authored comprehensive immigration legislation that passed the Senate in 2013. He’s currently a member of the House-Senate Conference Committee on Homeland Security, which is working on a bipartisan compromise for funding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security before the February 15 deadline.